James Tien Pei-chun's new mantle as environmental crusader raises his Liberal Party's capacity for political opportunism to previously uncharted levels ('Clearly, we need to work together', December 24).
He wants people to see him and his party as responsive and sympathetic to the public's concerns of the day. But the Liberals are still just a political wind-sock, blowing as the winds dictate. Co-operating with the mainland to improve the environment is laudable, but the party's record does not fit with Mr Tien's fuzzy holiday sentiment. In fact, the party has resisted a score of environmental initiatives over the years.
A few years ago, I was a public relations executive launching the Environmental Protection Department's engine-off campaign, a programme that encouraged drivers to turn off their idling engines to cut emissions. The director at the time, Michael Footman, trumpeted the benefits of voluntary improvement measures (ask nicely and they'll turn it off) over enforceable regulations (give them a ticket) to better hammer home these difficult new environmental concepts. His cohort, (and now Executive Councillor) Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee, agreed voluntary measures made better sense than legislative proscriptions. As the PR consultant, all I could do was remain silent as I looked over the harbour at the grey smog blocking the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront. Such volunteerism is a not-so-clever code used by the elites of Hong Kong for 'forget about it!' After all, would a minibus driver turn off an idling engine in torrid summer heat if it were not mandatory?
Mr Tien has laid down the gauntlet against Chief Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and the West Kowloon Cultural District as well, no doubt to raise the party's image to match the public's rising disapproval of government policy and callous big business. Note that the Liberals were followers on this behind the Democrats, who led the way on the Hunghom case as well.
And then, woosh, the wind-sock shifted again when the Liberals supported a march on New Year's Day by a group of stock brokers angry over the lost Link Reit millions. Oh, but then (woosh), they pulled out of the brokers' march after the Democrats made their march that day against business and government collusion a tsunami fund-raiser instead. Is Liberal a new synonym for shadow?
If the shadow party truly wanted to reflect the public's anger, Mr Tien would demand in Legco that Housing Secretary Michael Suen Ming-yeung resign.
